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Roadster dashboard comes on prior to charging

Has anyone seen this? When I plug in my 1.5 Roadster to the HPWC, the dashboard, headlights, and radio all come on for a few seconds before the charging starts, then they go off. I thought I had left the key in the ignition the first time, but it definitely wasn't.

Also, I thought there was a thread about the rubber pulling out of the roadster connector and how to fix that, but I can't find it. I tried a few search terms like "roadster fray cable" with no luck. Anyone have a link to that or instructions on how to tuck the rubber back in?

Has anyone seen this? When I plug in my 1.5 Roadster to the HPWC, the dashboard, headlights, and radio all come on for a few seconds before the charging starts, then they go off. I thought I had left the key in the ignition the first time, but it definitely wasn't.

Also, I thought there was a thread about the rubber pulling out of the roadster connector and how to fix that, but I can't find it. I tried a few search terms like "roadster fray cable" with no luck. Anyone have a link to that or instructions on how to tuck the rubber back in?

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I can't help you with the car coming on when you plug in. I've never seen that. But the rubber gasket on the OEM Tesla connector can be pushed in using a toothpick or some other skinny tool like a small allen wrench. Don't try to push it down all at once. Work your way around slowly, pushing it in a little each time.

When I plug in my 1.5 to my Roadster HPC the VDS comes on. The headlights do not, but then I have the headlight switch in the off position. The radio (JVC head unit) does not come on because I have it turned off (don't use it). Not sure about the instrument cluster.

Sounds like you hit a bug and its stuck in the same state so it won't fix itself. I've come across minor software bugs here and there, nothing bad just annoying. I'd personally pull both connectors on the VMS to get it to do a cold reboot, hopefully that'll break it out of the line of code its stuck on that's causing the issue. No its not a 1.5 feature, only my VDS screen stays on when the charge port is open. When a charge is initiated the only thing that changes is that start transitioning to a stop button on the VDS and a blinking amber ring around the charge port is on. Nothing else should be on, no dash lights, no head lights, etc. I charge with my headlight switch in the off, parking, and on state. No issues.

I can't help you with the car coming on when you plug in. I've never seen that. But the rubber gasket on the OEM Tesla connector can be pushed in using a toothpick or some other skinny tool like a small allen wrench. Don't try to push it down all at once. Work your way around slowly, pushing it in a little each time.

Sounds like you hit a bug and its stuck in the same state so it won't fix itself. I've come across minor software bugs here and there, nothing bad just annoying. I'd personally pull both connectors on the VMS to get it to do a cold reboot, hopefully that'll break it out of the line of code its stuck on that's causing the issue. No its not a 1.5 feature, only my VDS screen stays on when the charge port is open. When a charge is initiated the only thing that changes is that start transitioning to a stop button on the VDS and a blinking amber ring around the charge port is on. Nothing else should be on, no dash lights, no head lights, etc. I charge with my headlight switch in the off, parking, and on state. No issues.

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I'll try this and let you guys know. Looks like I'll be doing some contortions tonight!

I usually just leave my headlight switch on all the time, so that's why the headlights came on. If I didn't, I might not have noticed. Come to think of it... it might have started right after my annual service. They said they updated the firmware, but the version reads the same. 3.6.7 15

They said they updated the firmware, but the version reads the same. 3.6.7 15

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Before doing anything else, especially since you noticed the odd behavior after the firmware flash, I'd call Tesla and let them know they didn't verify that the flash successfully took. I'd then take it in, should be a quick update, and see if your issue goes away. The firmware you should be running on the 1.5 is: 3.6.12 15

To give them a benefit of the doubt, they could have flashed it but the flash failed for some reason. But then they failed to verify that the firmware revision was correct and incremented to 3.6.7 15. If the flash failed, there most likely (if done correctly) is a recovery mechanism that tries to back out the bad flash and restore it back to the previous version. But some values/bits/etc may not have been fully cleaned up you'll can get some odd behaviors from software that's confused just like what you're experiencing. Not saying this is what happened, but it does make sense. When you talk to your service center ask for some accountability, did they indeed verify the flash took correctly? They typically insert the USB stick with the updated firmware image and the system then sucks it up. I recon they just pulled the usb stick assuming it took correctly and bypassed / dismissed the error screen if any was given.

I went to verify the firmware version by entering the service screens. When I got to the screen where it lists all of the firmware and hardware versions, the display turned off. The car wouldn't turn on with the key, or anything... totally non-responsive. PANIC! Before I could get out and cycle the charge port door, the screen came back on and all was normal. I popped the USB drive in and got a log file. The firmware now shows version 3.6.12 15. I plugged in, and no dashboard / radio / headlights came on (good). I went back into the service screen and it correctly displays 3.6.12 15 and did not go black. It's almost like something rebooted when I entered that screen.

I drove it for a few miles and everything seemed fine. I did not do the cold boot of the VMS.

I drove the car this morning and all seems fine. My ideal miles seem to have dropped by 6 miles on a standard charge. Normally about 177, Today 171. Could this be the new firmware's estimation algorithm?

Sounds like the VMS code that tells it to reboot after a firmware update was where the bug was. Most likely the unix kernel panic'd/crashed that caused the VMS to reboot. My guess is you were taking the code down a new path that threw an exception/panic.

Glad its at the correct firmware version. As for the ideal miles, 7 miles can be a normal fluctuation. I've had my Roadster go down to as low as 171 std. ideal miles for a couple of days/weeks, then bounce back up to 181 std ideal miles. When my Roadster went to this latest firmware, I didn't see any change in ideal miles. There shouldn't have been any, it was only the 80amp pilot signal that was to go into this firmware. Of course they could have pushed something else, but as I mentioned I didn't see changes in mine. I know possibly 2 or three firmware revisions before this one there was an algo change. Keep an eye on your CAC, it most likely correlates but I've seen my ideal miles go up/down without changing the CAC on certain days.

I'd still call the Tesla Service center and let them know about the issue where the firmware version number was not updated accordingly and that what appears to be a reboot of the VMS allowed the firmware to properly load. That's a huge miss if you ask me regards to a service center. They always should be checking and verifying that their work they're doing is actually going into the car and being displayed and behaving as it should.

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